Arch Intern Med
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During the last six years, there has been increased interest in the detection of abnormalities of left ventricular diastolic function in patients with heart disease. Before 1981, most studies on diastolic function were performed in the catheter laboratory using invasive techniques and complex methods. Recently, radionuclide angiograms and Doppler echocardiography have been employed to measure the dynamics of filling in normal individuals and in patients with heart disease. ⋯ It is also important to remember that left ventricular diastolic abnormalities have to be identified after the elimination of the confounding influence of variables such as ejection fraction, heart rate, age, and preload (end-diastolic volume). Automation of the derivation of indexes of diastolic filling should provide an objective assessment of the dynamics of left ventricular filling. Although the value of measurement of diastolic filling in the individual patient remains controversial, we believe that the practice of cardiology is incomplete without consideration of the second half of cardiac function.